Of Pictures and Melodies
by Azahkhiel
Summary: Takes place in R2; Gino is kicked out of the student council room because he was too noisy, after deciding to explore the campuse, he hears a familiar melody


Author's Notes:

This is set during the episodes in R2 where Gino and Anya attended Ashford Academy but sadly, I can't remember which episode it was exactly (I'm feeling too lazy to look it up at the moment -_-')

So, anyway on with the fic!

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Of Pictures and Melodies 

Gino walked down along the winding hallways of Ashford Academy. He had been kicked out of the student council room by Suzaku saying that he was disturbing everyone from their work even though Milly said she didn't mind. Rivalz, Shirley and even Lelouch, although he was trying not to look too obvious, seemed to be enjoying his presence and was intent on listening to his stories about Suzaku as the knight seven before he was rudely shoved out by Suzaku saying he was too noisy and closed the door in his face.

"Darn that Suzaku! Pushing me out like that, he didn't have to be so mean!" he huffed as he continued walking down the hallway. Some of the students were looking at him as he passed them by surprised to see Britannia's knight of three walking in the hallway wearing his own set of the school's uniform. He could also hear a couple of girls giggle and talk about him and he winked at them, making them blush and talk excitedly.

"Well, maybe I could go exploring before I go back to the student council to see if Suzaku would finally let me in." He nodded his head in agreement as he made up his mind and stared heading off towards one of the buildings.

Exploring, Gino concluded, was quite fun considering he was doing it alone. He met a few people along the way and got to have a few conversations here and there. He'd seen various clubs and their activities and some even invited him to try out, although he had to decline since he really wasn't enrolled in the school. After all, he and Anya were just here because they were curious about the school life that Suzaku was telling them about. Gino paused in his thoughts. Okay, maybe he was the one who was more curious and dragged Anya along with him.

Speaking of Anya, where did she go? Gino stopped in the middle of the hallway and realized he hadn't seen the stoic girl until before he was shoved out of the student council room by Suzaku. The last he remembered seeing Anya was when she was sitting in one of the sofas in student council, typing away with her phone and taking random pictures, and then she was gone.

"I wonder where she could be." Gino thought to himself as he looked around the hallway. There were fewer students in this building compared to the ones he'd passed by before. This was the only building he hadn't finished exploring yet and since he didn't see Anya in any of the other buildings, he concluded that she must be in this building. Nodding to himself, he continued to walk further down the hallway determined to find where Anya is.

After looking through several rooms and hallways, Gino still couldn't find Anya and was about to give up as he turned another corner only to find another long hallway.

"Ah! That's it! I give up!" Gino half whined half shouted "There's too many rooms and hallways! I can't look in each and every one of them anymore!" he exclaimed loudly. He didn't bother lowering his voice, there was no one in the hallway anyway, and he didn't care if anyone heard him. Although, it would be a different story if a teacher did hear him, after all, he might be disturbing classes. The thought of being scolded made Gino cringe and he decided he should probably go back to the student council. He was about to turn back in the direction he came in when he heard something. Stopping to look back at the direction where the sound came from, he listened further, straining his ears as a familiar melody floated through the air. It was faint and he probably wouldn't have noticed it had his senses not been keen enough.

He began to walk towards the source of the melody, not bothering to look in the other rooms as he passed by. He stopped in front of the door of the second to the last room near the end with a small sign at the doorway that reads 'Music Room'. The door was left slightly ajar and he peeked in to see who was inside. A small smile crept up his face as he saw the familiar pink head sitting in one of the chairs placed in the middle of the room. The beautiful melody he heard was coming from the cello she was currently playing.

Gino watched silently through the small opening as he listened to Anya. As soon as she finished playing though she looked towards the door, eyes settling on Gino, who had a sheepish grin as he entered the room. "Suzaku kicked me out of the student council room, so I decided to go exploring around the campus while looking for you." He said. "Oh…" Anya quietly said as she turned her attention back to the cello.

"So who did you borrow the cello from?" he asked as he sat down on the piano stool. "There was a student here earlier…" she began "a member of the music club. I asked if I could borrow one of the cellos they had." She pointed to the large shelves in the other side of the room where various musical instruments were stored.

"I see." Gino hummed. It's been a while since he heard Anya play the cello. In fact, he was the only one out of all the knights who has heard her play. She didn't like playing in front of people especially if she was only asked to do so. She preferred to play only for the people she likes or for herself. Anya was just that kind of person.

"Can you play another one?" he requested and Anya nodded in reply and began to position the cello again before playing another piece. The piece started slowly, letting the notes resound throughout the room before turning to a slightly faster pace. The melody was mellow yet seemed to be more somber than the one she was previously playing.

Gino watched from his seat as Anya gracefully moved the bow. The light coming from the window seemed to bounce of the light carpeting in the room making her and the cello look like they were glowing. Gino smiled as he looked at Anya's face. It was only during times like this that Anya would let a little bit of her emotions show. Although she is usually seen with a stoic face and seemed to give off the impression of indifference like what other people say, Anya was actually quite expressive. Most of the people don't notice it because she expresses it in her own ways, like taking photos and typing away in her phone. And although she doesn't really admit it or show it, Gino knew she also gets riled up when it comes to challenges. He remembered that one event set up by Milly where the students had to hunt for Lelouch and Anya even used her Mordred just to be able to search.

Gino opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them as he got lost in his thoughts, as the melody suddenly changed from being somber to melancholic and his gaze once again fell on the petite girl in front of him. There was nothing she was showing that would give off what she was feeling, but the emotions being expressed in her music was enough for Gino to know what she was feeling.

The first time he had met the knight of six, his first impression was that she was so young and that she was so petite that he couldn't believe at first that she was indeed the knight of six. The next thing he noticed about her was that she was different from the other knights. She was quiet and unresponsive at times, but she was easier to get along with compared to the other knights.

It was only when they became friends that he found out that Anya had very little memories of her childhood or rather, it was like there were patches of her memory missing. He didn't understand it at first, but then he could see how troubled she was as she told him about it. He saw how in that short moment, fear and distraught flickered in her eyes before her stoic expression returned. And when Gino saw that, he suddenly felt that he wanted to be beside her. To accompany her whenever she would feel sad. And he did just that, staying with her whenever he can and hoping just that he could become closer to her just a little bit more.

Gino clapped his hands as Anya finished playing the piece "That was great Anya! It was beautiful!" he happily commented as Anya looked back at him. "I only played it like I used to…" she said stoically but Gino could see in her eyes that she was happy he liked it.

"Okay! I'm gonna play next!" He said as he turned to the piano and lifted the cover to reveal the black and white ivory keys. It wasn't uncommon for nobles to be able to play at least one musical instrument, it was actually some sort of unspoken requirement that most of the nobility know.

"What will you play?" Anya asked, reclining a little in the chair she was sitting on.

"You'll see." Gino said as he slowly positioned his hands above the keys and began playing.

The melody that came out was soothing, gently filling out the room as he plays the keys, and a look of recognition passed through Anya's face as she remembered the piece. "This piece is… the one I was playing that day…" she said quietly.

Gino slowed down his pace a little "Yeah, it's the piece you were playing when I met you." He smiled. He could still remember the day he met Anya. He was invited to a party of another noble when he got bored and decided to take a walk. He was walking down the hallway when he heard a melody coming from one of the rooms. When he opened the door to take a peek, it was then that he saw Anya playing the cello. The two other occupants of the room, her mother and a friend of hers, noticed him and told him to come in, introducing themselves and Anya. It was only later on when he found out that she was the knight of six when they were formally introduced.

Gino continued to play the piano and closed his eyes as he could still remember the memories from that day vividly as if it were yesterday. This piece is his favorite out of all that Anya had played. It had a lighter feel to it compared to the others and the moment he learned how to play the accompaniment for the piano, he had asked Anya if she wanted to play it with him. She had agreed to do so but only just the two of them, but they never got the chance to play it before since their hands were full with all the battles they had to fight for the empire. Ever since then, this was the first time he had actually played this piece for Anya.

The sound of the cello playing caused Gino to open his eyes and momentarily stop to see that Anya was also playing the piece.

Anya stopped as well and looked at him "You said you wanted to play this piece together." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. A large grin made its way on Gino's face as he heard what Anya said "Of course I do!" he said cheerfully and once again he began to play from the start.

Anya had a small smile on her face as she listened to Gino begin the piece before playing her part together with the piano. They listened to each other as their own melodies collided and blended together in harmony, filling up the room with the light, beautiful music. Both of them were so engrossed in the music they were playing. The light melody from the piano seemed to make the notes float in the air and the cello's soothing melody glides together with that of the piano.

It had only been a few minutes but when they finished the piece they both felt content and had a smile on their faces.

"That felt great! Wanna play again Anya?" Gino exclaimed as he bounced towards Anya who nodded in return.

"Great! Hmm… what should we play next…" Gino said as he thought of other pieces he knew that could be played with both the cello and the piano and asking Anya what other pieces she knew.

Outside the room a clicking shot could be heard as Suzaku leaned over the small gap between the doors, a camera in hand as he take pictures of Anya and Gino playing together.

"So this is where you were, the president was looking for you earlier Suzaku."

A voice from behind startled him and he looked back to see Lelouch hovering behind him. "Lelouch!" he instinctively put his other hand over his mouth as he tried to suppress his surprise and gestured at his best friend to stay silent.

Raising a delicate brow in his best friend's actions, he decided to follow Suzaku's order "What are you doing?" came the curious whisper. "Gino was gone for a long time after I shoved him out of the room and I thought he might be causing trouble so I went to look for him." Suzaku explained in hushed tones "I know that. I mean what's with the camera?" Lelouch asked as he pointed at the camera in Suzaku's hands.

"Oh, this? Well, it's just, ever since I met the two of them, it was always Anya who was taking the pictures of everyone else and I was curious as to why she like doing so but whenever I tried to take pictures, she would always shy away." Suzaku explained "And now I saw them here, playing together and I thought; hey, why not take a picture of her and Gino? And that's what I did." Suzaku finished his explanation and was grinning sheepishly.

"I see. Well, I guess it's not every day that you see the knights of rounds doing things like this." He said as both he and Suzaku watched Gino and Anya play another piece, with Suzaku's camera clicking every now and then. 

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Author's Notes:

So there you have it! Please review and tell me what you think and if you found any grammatical errors, please tell me ^^

Also, if you're wondering about the pieces Anya and Gino were playing, here's a list:

1st - The Secret by Adam Hurst

2nd - Sparrow by Adam Hurst

3rd - River Flows in You piano and cello version

and that's it! thanks for reading ^^


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